Chapter 5 Cell Recognition and the Immune System Flashcards
What is a pathogen?
A microorganism which causes disease.
What is immunity?
The body’s ability to kill a pathogen before it causes any harm.
What are the 2 types of white blood cells?
Lymphocyte and phagocyte
What are the two types of lymphocytes?
T-Lymphocyte and B-Lymphocyte.
Why must white blood cells be able to distinguish between cell and non-self?
This allows the white blood cells to know what is part of your body, and what is not. So that the body’s own tissues aren’t destroyed.
What is used to identify cells as self or non-self?
The proteins on the cell surface membrane.
Why are proteins used to identify whether cells are self or non-self?
They have a huge variability and the 3-D (tertiary) structure is very specific.
What is the immune system able to identify?
1 - Pathogens (e.g. HIV); 2 - Non-self material (e.g. cells from another organism); 3 - Toxins; 4 - Abnormal body cells (e.g. cancer)
What is the name given to the protein which causes an immune response?
An antigen.
What issue may arise with the immune system, due to transplants?
The immune system may recognise the tissues as non-self, and therefore attack transplanted organs/tissues.
What are the 2 types of defence?
Specific and non-specific.
What are the 2 types of non-specific defence?
Physical barrier and phagocytosis.
What are the 2 types of specific defence?
Cell mediated response and humoral response.
What type of cells are involved in cell-mediated response?
T Lymphocytes.
What type of cells are involved in humoral response?
B Lymphocytes
When a pathogen enters the body, how is the correct lymphocyte selected?
It already exists in the body, but must be stimulated to replicate.
What do we mean by “correct” lymphocyte for a particular pathogen?
Just as each pathogen has specific proteins on their surface that indicate what they are. The lymphocytes have complementary proteins which fit those of the pathogen.
Why do lymphocytes not attack our own body?
1 - As a foetus, our lymphocytes were only exposed to our own cells, those which combined, were destroyed, leaving only those which fit foreign (non-self) material.
2 - As an adult, lymphocytes are created in the bone marrow, and again only encounter self antigens. if an immune response is triggered, the cell kills itself (apoptosis). Therefore no anti-self lymphocytes reach the blood.
What is the role of a phagocyte?
To ingest and destroy pathogens. (phagocytosis)
What is phagocytosis?
The ingesting of large particles into vesicles by the cell-surface membrane.
Describe phagocytosis
The pathogen releases chemicals.
This attracts the phagocyte.
The phagocyte binds to the pathogen.
The phagocyte engulfs the pathogen and forms a phagosome around the pathogen.
Lysosomes inside the phagocyte fuse with the phagosome to form a phagolysosome and release digestive enzymes into the phagosome.
The pathogen is broken down by hydrolysis.
The phagocyte presents antigens on its cell surface membrane.
What attracts phagocytes?
chemical products of pathogens, or dead, damaged or abnormal cells.
What allows phagocytes to recognise and attach to chemicals on the surface of the pathogen?
Receptors on the cell-surface membrane.
When the pathogen is engulfed, what is the vesicle called?
A phagosome.
What fuses with the phagosome?
Lysosomes.
What do the lysosomes contain and what do they do to the pathogen?
The lysosomes contain hydrolytic enzymes called lysozymes. These break down the pathogen. Similar to digestion.
What happens after the pathogen has been digested in the phagosome?
The soluble products are absorbed into the cytoplasm of the phagocyte.
What is cell mediated immunity?
The response of T-Lymphocytes to foreign antigens presented on a body cell.
What is an antigen?
Part of an organism or substance which is recognised as non-self and stimulates an immune response.
What form do most antigens take?
Proteins on the cell surface membrane.
Which white blood cell is involved in the specific immune response?
Lymphocytes
Where are the two types of Lymphocytes made and matured?
T-Lymphocytes are made in the bone marrow, and matured in the Thymus gland. B-Lymphocytes are made and matured in the Bone marrow.
What role do B-Lymphocytes play in the immune system?
They are associated with humoral immunity. (antibodies in the body’s fluids, or humor, such as plasma.)
What role do T-Lymphocytes play in the immune system?
They are associated with the cell mediated immunity. Immunity involving body cells.
What do T-Lymphocytes respond to?
The body’s own cells which have been infected. Cells from individuals of the same species (genetically different).
Why can T-Lymphocytes identify invader cells from normal cells?
Phagocytes present antigens of hydrolyzed pathogens on their surface membrane.
Body cells present viral antigens on their surface during infection.
Transplanted cells have different antigens on their surface.
Cancer cells are different, so present different antigens on their surface membrane.
What is an antigen presenting cell?
A cell which presents antigens which are foreign on their cell surface membrane.
Which antigens will T-Lymphocytes respond to?
Foreign antigens presented on a body cell. (cell-mediated immunity).
Why are there a vast number of different T-Cells?
Each T-Cell’s receptors correspond to one specific antigen. There needs to be many different T-Cells to correspond to the variation in antigens.
What are the stages of T-Cell response to infection by a pathogen?
1 - Phagocyte ingests pathogen;
2 - Pathogen’s antigens are placed onto the phagocyte’s surface membrane. (It becomes an APC)
3 - The receptors of a specific TH cell bind perfectly to the antigen being presented.
4 - This binding activates the Th cell to divide and produce many clones. (Clonal expansion)
5 - These cloned cells specialise.
In what way might cloned TH cells differentiate?
1 - Develop into memory cells
2 - Stimulate phagocytes
3 - Stimulate B-cells to divide and secrete antibodies
4 - Activate TC cells (Cytotoxic cells.)
What chemicals do cytotoxic (TC Cells) produce?
Perforin